Little Zaisan

The same afternoon as the trip to the museum, President Ganhuyag drove us up to Little Zaison, as this place is lovingly called by the members. Zaison in UB is the place where Elder Maxwell dedicated the land of Mongolia for missionary work in 1993--just 20 years ago. This place in Khovd is known by a different name in the community. Yah, that name on the sign!  There are 310 steps to the top and it is steep.
                                                Elder Groesbeck, President Ganhoyag and Sisters Onan and Arunjargal.

 We climbed through some really beautiful rocks and the day was pleasantly cool--fortunately!  Unfortunately, we were looking down most of the time to not trip and fall on the stairs! We stopped to catch our breath a few times!  It almost made me dizzy to look up and I had to hang on the rail the whole time to keep my balance.  First picture shows where we came from and the second shows where we are going.  

The view from the top was amazing.  We could see the whole city.  It isn't all that large--only about 40,000 people. It is laid out pretty well and we could see our apartment building.  It was interesting to see the definite line where the water ends and the desert begins--the sudden change from green to brown was very evident. 

 It's a little hard to see, but in the sand below are love notes written in the sand and using rocks. 

Alan had to leave the beaten trail to get a picture.  Is anyone surprised?! 

To my relief, he came back with no scraps or bumps!

 This little monument was at the top!  It was a very fun activity and

one I was glad we could do before Sister Onon was transferred that night!

This is a view from town helps put the 310 steps in perspective.

After leaving Little Zaisan, we drove out of town to the Buyant River.  This area is green and beautiful and there were fishermen fishing the stream.  

In the summer they move their Gers from town to the river to enjoy nature.

These crumbling adobe walls are 8ft high and 6 ft wide in places and are the  remains of the Manchu fort in the northern part of Khovd city. The 40,000 square meter walled compound was built around 1762 by the Manchu (Qing dynasty).  It had several temples, a graveyard, the homes of the Manchu rulers and garrisons for the troops. Now nothing remains  except these walls the  some trees  planted along the main streets. On 7 August 1912, Mongol troops with popular support of the local people liberated Khovd, destroyed the Manchu-Chinese garrison and abolished their governance.